Trump the Elder Fears His Namesake Will Be Caught up in Russia Probe

Is this a case of the son paying for the crimes of the father?

Not quite.

If Donald Trump Jr. is now in hot water, it’s a trap he laid for himself, in service to his father. He’s a grown man and could have chosen another action.

Still, the elder Trump gets a few points for showing the concern of a parent. Other than Ivanka, I wasn’t sure he even realized he had other children.

With special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation appearing to be at least in the process of tying up loose ends, and former Trump attorney, Michael Cohen ready to make a deal to save his own skin, the president is apparently in panic mode.

Cohen, the longtime attorney and “fixer” for Donald Trump recently suggested that the 2016 Trump Tower meeting between Donald Trump Jr. and several Kremlin-connected Russians was known about beforehand by then-candidate Trump, and he fully approved.

Trump Jr. has previously testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee that his dad knew nothing of the meeting.

Now, with thoughts of a perjury charge dancing in his head, President Trump is worried about what will happen to his firstborn.

Trump has been concerned for months now that the Mueller probe could reach his family, and potentially his son-in-law Jared Kushner, but his focus has turned to his namesake in recent weeks, one person who speaks with Trump frequently tells CNN. This is one of several reasons Trump has upped his public attacks on Mueller, because he doesn’t want him touching his family, the person adds.

That would certainly explain his tweet from last week, where he called on Attorney General Jeff Sessions to step in and end the Mueller probe. It looked suspiciously like a direct attempt to interfere in an ongoing investigation, but either he didn’t realize it (likely), or he didn’t care (also likely).

Trump is loathsome, hateful, and self-absorbed, but you have to believe there’s something inside there that would provoke a paternal reaction when it’s his child on the line.

For his part, Donald Trump Jr. maintains that he did nothing wrong. What’s more, Cohen has not indicated that he has any proof that the senior Trump knew about and approved of the meeting with the Russians. What he has is the willingness to sit with Mueller and tell all.

Then again, Cohen is a man with his own tail in a snare, so he’s got reason to make a deal.

Frankly, I find it believable. This was Donald Trump’s campaign. Would there be anything of this nature going down without his knowledge? Was he that disconnected from the people around him that they wouldn’t even tell him before, or even a year after what they were doing?

There were reports of a call made by Trump Jr. to a blocked number immediately after the meeting. Expect to hear more about that in the near future.

Others who have been close to the President — including his former White House communications director, Anthony Scaramucci, and former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon — have suggested the President at the very least knew shortly after the fact.

Earlier this week, the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Republican Chuck Grassley of Iowa, told CNN, “If he misled the committee, he’s lying to Congress. That’s a crime. And that’d be up to the prosecutors, not me.”

I suspect if Republican lawmakers had actual backbones to work with, these days, there’d be more concern over this.

The October surprise this year may very well involve the president’s family.

Earlier this week, Trump Jr.’s lawyer, Alan Futerfas, issued a statement after CNN first reported on what Cohen was prepared to say in testimony.

“We have investigated this matter for over a year and are in command of the facts,” Futerfas said. “We are fully confident of the accuracy and reliability of the information that has been provided by Donald Trump Jr. in the various investigations.”

Well, hang on to that, and do what you can to convince the president. It seems he would know if his child actually did this thing, or not.

Wouldn’t he?